Until the early to mid 1970's, patients with injured or diseased ankle joints commonly resulting from rheumatism, or degenerative or traumatic arthritis, had few options when their ankle joints failed. The most common procedure to help these patients regain some use of their ankle was obliteration of the joint by fusion, a procedure that is still commonly used today. Fusion, however, rendered the ankle stiff and generally immobile relative to the lower leg, resulting in limited use and additional stresses on the knee and hip joints.
Probably the first reported use of total ankle prosthesis was by Buckholz in 1969. The medical community recognized that such ankle replacement led to largely increased use of the ankle joint because the replacement permitted ankle ranges of motion which generally attempted to mimic the natural human joint. Since that time, ankle replacement prostheses have become increasingly common in use and improved in design.
There is, however, a need for a total ankle replacement system that reduces the occurrence of subsidence and aseptic loosening while retaining the majority of the foot's natural motion. There is also a need for a less invasive surgical method to install such a device to provide improved healing and a decreased failure rate.